Window air conditioner



June 29, 1954 A. TRASK 2,682,159

WINDOW AIR CoNDITIoNER File Jan. 2, 1951 5 sheets-sheet 1 June 29, 1954A TRASK 2,682,159

WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 2, 1951 FIEQ E' 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FUE.E]

June 29, 1954 A. TRASK 2,682,159

WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 2, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 z I f^\- E,i* p55 June 29, 1954 A. TRAsK 2,682,159

WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 2, 1951 FIE 5 94 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 June29, 1954 A TRASK WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 2, 1951 5Sheets-Sheet 5 5929 @5W (Il Patented June 29, 1954 WINDOW AIRCONDITIONER Allen Trask, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Welbilt StoveCompany, Inc., Maspeth, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationJanuary 2, 1951, Serial No. 203,971

2 Clan1s.` (Cl. 62-140) This invention relates to window mounted airconditioners, and more particularly to the cabinet structure of smallunitary air conditioners adapted for mounting on the window sill ofdouble hung sash type windows.

A principal object of this invention is a cabinet constructed as acantilever structure having a central pier arranged to support the airconditioner within the opening of a window at the bottom closing pointof a vertically sliding sash.

Another object is a cabinet adapted to t within, and be secured to, awindow opening without the need for separate mounting frames or separateparts and devices for effecting secure installation.

A window air conditioner adapted for using the structural strength of awindow sash as a means of support, is another objective.

Still another object is a cabinet for window air conditioners having achannel recessed into its top cabinet surface adapted to receive thebottom portion of a vertically sliding Window sash in a weather sealingcontact, and as a retainer for the air conditioner.

Almost all of the window type air conditioners on the market today areconstructed with a bottom plate of heavy gage sheet metal ofapproximately l gage or 12 gage steel, in the shape of a rectangulartray having flanged edges like a shallow pan having a rim approximatelyone and one-half inches in height for retaining condensed water vaporand for imparting structural strength to the tray and the complete unit.The component parts of the air conditioners are assembled upon the trayand then enclosed by cabinet portions being assembled to the tray. Inthis type of structure it is the tray alone which provides the onlyintegrating structural strength for holding the units into unitarystructures.

This invention discloses a novel structure of air conditioner cabinetwherein a centrally disposed vertical partition within the cabinet isthe basic structural member of the cabinet to which the cabinet partsare assembled and supported in cantilever fashion on either sidethereof. The upper portion of the partition is adapted to engage thelower portion of a window sash so that the window sash becomes asupporting member for the air conditioner in its installed position. Thebottom portion of the partition extends below the cabinet in the mannerof a pier supporting the cabinet centrally and near its center ofgravity.

The above enumerated objects and other objects and advantages of thisinvention will more fully appear from the following description made inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencecharacters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation View of a window air conditioner embodyingthis invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation view of the right side of the air conditionershowing it mounted in a window. The window sash and sill portions areshown sectionally;

Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the window sash ofFig. 2

Fig. 4 is a perspective View looking into the one piece welded sheetmetal air conditioner cabinet of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, with its two topcovers removed;

Fig. 5 is a top View of Fig. 3 with the two cabinet top covers removed,and a portion of the window sash groove removed to show the internalmechanism of the air conditioner;

Fig. 6 is a left side elevation View of Fig, l with the left side panelsremoved to show an elevation View of the internal mechanism shown fromthe top in Fig 5;

Fig. '7 is a top view of the evaporative condenser shown in Fig. 5underneath the condenser fan;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional View of the evaporative condenser of Fig.7 at section 8 8;

Fig. 9 is an upwardV perspective View of the air conditioner of Fig. 1installed in a window. This view is from the room side of the window andit shows the clamping means for securing the machine to the inside edgeof a standard type window sill;

Fig. 10 is an upward perspective view of the air conditioner of Fig, 1mounted in a window. This view is from the outside of the window andshows the window sill jack screws for supporting the air conditionerupon the outside window sill;

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view of the window sillclamp of Fig. 9,and

Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view of Fig. ll taken at section l2-l2.

In the drawings a cabinet for an air conditioner of this invention maybe constructed of a cabinet wrapper l5 of one piece of sheet metalformed to produce the cabinet front panel it, right hand side panel l1,and left hand side panel I8. The two ends of cabinet wrapper I5 areilanged and spot welded to back panel I9. A vertical sheet metalpartition 20 with side ilanges 2l, is arranged to divide the interior ofthe air conditioner cabinet into an evaporator chamber 23 and acondensing unit chamber 24. Partition 20 is attached to side panels I5,and Il of the cabinet by spot Welding its flanges 2| to the side panels.

Partition extends below the cabinet in such manner that its lowerextended portion 95 becomes a supporting pier, or leg, for the cabinet.Flange 22 at the bottom portion of partition 20 is a foot for pier 95,upon which the machine is suported.

Partition 20 and pier 95 is located between front panel I6 and backpanel I9 of the cabinet in such manner that the cabinet extending toeach side of pier 95 is supported in cantilever fashion by pier 95.While the weight of the machine on each side of pier 95 may not be equalto produce a balanced cantilever support at pier 95, the unbalancedweight of one sidewill in most structures be a small fraction of thetotal weight of the air conditioner. Thus pier 95, located insubstantially a central position under the cabinet supportssubstantially the entire weight of the unit in cantilever fashion.

The cabinet is provided with front cover 25 over the evaporatorcompartment 23, and cover 25 is attached with screws to upper flange 98of the partition 20. Rear cover 26 covers the condensing unitcompartment 24. Bottom panel 21 is iianged on its four sides and spotwelded at the iianges to side panel I5, front panel I6, side panel I1,and partition 20, at the bottom of evaporator chamber 23 to provide abottom panel to the chamber for supporting the evaporator and coolingmechanism of the air conditioner.

At the upper part of partition 20 a sash channel member 28 having aW-shaped cross section is spot welded to the partition 20 to form arectangular sash channel 90 of which the top portion of partition 20forms one side, and the channel member 28 forms the opposite side andbottom. The rear cover 26 is secured by screws to the top flange ofchannel member 28 located in a horizontal plane with flange 98 ofpartition 20.

At the bottom portion of condensing unit chamber 24 is a bracket 29 anda bracket 30, arranged for supporting iin tube condenser 3l, within thecondensing unit chamber, and for supporting the air conditioner cabineton an outside window sill by means of jack screws 32 inserted throughthe lower flanges thereof as hereinafter explained. Bracket 29 is weldedat one end to partition 20, and at the other end to the back panel I9.Bracket 30 is welded at one end to partition 26, at the opposite end toback panelIS, and it is welded also to the bottom portion of side panelI5.

A hermetic type electric refrigeration compressor 33 is assembled withincondensing unit charnber 24, and is secured to partition 20 by means oftwo brackets 34 which are welded to the partition 20 and bolted to thecompressor, and is secured to back panel I9 by means of two brackets 35which are bolted to both the compressor and to the back panel I9.

An evaporative condenser assembly-36, shown in Fig. '1, is assembledwithin the condensing unit chamber 24 between bracket 29 and side panelI1 of the cabinet, substantially in a horizontal plane with iin tubecondenser 3 I, in such a manner that n tube condenser 3l and evaporativecondenser cover the bottom of the condensing unit chamber 24.Evaporative condenser 36 comprises a rectangular pan 31, a serpentinetube 38 secured to the inside bottom of pan 31 by the dual means ofclamp members 39 spot welded to the bottom of the pan, and metallicfusion obtained by dipping the said spot welded assembly into acontainer of molten solder. Substantially 4 the full length of theserpentine tube 38, which is parallel with the bottom of pan 31, isbonded to pan 31 by metallic fusion for heat exchange. Evaporativecondenser 36 is secured within the condensing unit chamber 24 by meansof its end flange 40 being assembled between the bottom flange of backpanel I9, and insulating fiber board 4I secured to the inside of backpanel I9. Bracket 42 welded to pan 31 is arranged to be secured `betweencabinet bracket 29 and the end portion of n tube condenser which isattached to bracket 29.

The condensing unit chamber 24 is insulated against the radiant heat ofthe sun entering the chamber and the sound of the internal operatingmechanism leaving the chamber, by fiber board insulation 4I attachedinside back panel I9 as described above, and by ber board insulation llainside side panel I8, and also by iiber board insulation 43 attached tothe inside of cabinet cover 26. The evaporator chamber 23 is insulatedagainst heat and sound transfer between the inside of the chamber andthe outside, by ber board insulation 44 assembled upon bottom panel 21;by fiber board insulation 45 inside cabinet front panel I6; and by glassWool insulation 46 attached by adhesive to the inside of cabinet cover25, The partition 20 is insulated with fiber board 99.

Condenser fan 41 is a four bladed propeller type fan which draws airthrough n tube condenser 3|, through condensing unit chamber 24, anddischarges it through circular opening 50 in side panel I1. Fan motor 48is secured to partition 26 by means of bracket 49 bolted to both themotor and the partition 20. Wire fan guard 91 attached by four screwscovers opening 58.

In the evaporator chamber 23, evaporator pan 5I is assembled upon fiberboard insulation 44 and is secured by means of its brackets 52 beingbolted to bottom panel 21. Evaporator pan 5I is provided with low sides53 to conne condensate. A fin tube evaporator 54 is assembled within pan5I and attached at each end to the pan sides 53 by means of bolts notshown in the drawings. Evaporator fan 55 is a four bladed propeller typefan arranged to draw air into the evaporator chamber 23 through louvers56, and through evaporator 54, and then discharge it through grille 51mounted in a circular opening in front panel I6. Evaporator fan motor 58drives the fan 55, and is mounted by means of bracket 59 riveted to thebottom of evaporator pan 5I and bolted to motor 58. A short conduit 96welded into and extending through the side 53 of evaporator pan 5I, islocated and arranged to carry condensate from the pan 5I to theevaporative condenser 36. Conduit 66 extends through a registering holein partition 20 and a hole 6I in the end of evaporative condenser pan31. Knob 62 is for the manual operation of an air pump-out ventilationdevice not shown in these drawings.

There is also assembled within the evaporator chamber 23, expansionvalve 63, refrigerant accimiulator 64, heat exchanger 65, and electricalswitch 66. Switch 66 is a conventional three position switch having anoff position, a position for operating fan motors 48 and 58 only, and aposition for operating both the fan motors and the compressor 33. A lineconductor v61 provides electrical current to switch 66. A conductor 68carries current from switch 66 to. fan motor 58. A conductor 69 carriescurrent from switch 88 to compressor 33 and fan motor 48. A conductorcarries current from compressor 33 to fan motor 48.

The refrigerant circuit of the air conditioner comprises compressor 33which compresses refrigerant vapor and discharges it through conduit 1|to the inlet 12 of evaporative condenser 36. The outlet 13 ofevaporative condenser 36 is in fluid communication with the inlet of`iin tube condenser 3|. The conduit between evaporative condenser 36 andn tube condenser 3| is not shown in the drawings as it is concealed inFig. 5 by compressor discharge conduit 1| which in this view issuperimposed. However, outlet 13 of evaporative condenser 38 is in fluidcommunication with inlet tube 14 in the top row of tubes in the two row1in tube condenser 3|. The outlet of n tube condenser 3| is at the endof the tube in the bottom row of the coil directly under inlet tube 14,andI is connected in fluid communication with conduit 15. Thisconnection is not shown in the drawings but is concealed under conduit1I.

Conduit 15 leads condensed refrigerant from the two condensers out ofthe condensing unit chamber 24, through partition 29, to heat exchanger95 with which it is in fluid communication. Heat exchanger 65 comprisesone loop of two conduits soldered together in heat exchange relationthroughout the length of the loop. One conduit thereof establishescommunication for a flow of condensed refrigerant from conduit 15 toexpansion valve 83, and the other conduit establishes communication forrefrigerant vapor from accumulator 64 to the compressor 33 to bedescribed in the continuation of the refrigerant circuit sequence,following. Conduit 16 provides iiuid communication between the outlet ofexpansion valve 63 and the inlet of the evaporator 54. Conduit 11provides fluid communication between the outlet of evaporator 54 and theinlet of accumulator 84. Heat exchanger 65 provides fluid communicationbetween the outlet of accumulator 84 and conduit 18. Conduit 18completes the refrigerant circuit by establishing fluid l communicationbetween the refrigerant vapor outlet of heat exchanger 65 and thesuction inlet of compressor 33.

Underneath the evaporator compartment 23 Yattached underneath its bottompanel 21, is a universally adjustable clamping device shown in Figs. 11and 12, for attaching the air conditioner to an inside window sillwithout the need for screws inserted into the window sill. A sheet metalchannel 19 has a plurality of longitudinal slots 80 in its flanges, andit is spot welded underneath the central portion of bottom panel 21. Asecond and shorter channel 8| is arranged to nest slidingly withinchannel 19, and has 4 longitudinal slots 82 in its iianges located forsliding registry with slots 8|] in channel 19. nel 83 is locatedperpendicularly and centrally between the flanges of channel 8| andwelded thereto. There is a longitudinal slot 84 in channel 83. A clampangle 85 having an adjustment slot 86 in vertically adjustable registrywith slot 84 in channel 83, is secured in selective location to channel83 by means of clamp angle 81 bolted to channel 83 with bolt 88 as shownin Fig. 11.

An air conditioner of this invention may be mounted within the openingvof a conventional double hung sash window, and securely held therepermanently, in the following manner. The lower sash of the window israised and the air conditiener is set within the window opening as shownA chanin Figs. 9 and 10. The unit supporting pier 95 is located directlybehind the inside window sill in the position from which the lower sashwas raised, and the unit is centered laterally within the windowopening. The lower portion of the sash, shown in Figs. 2 and 3, as 89,is then lowered into sash channel 90 recessed within the top of the airconditioner cabinet. The window sash then becomes a structural memberholding the air conditioner in its final operating position. Thecondensing unit section of the unit, outside the window, is usually alittle heavier, and in this instance is a little heavier than theevaporator section within the room. Therefore the upper end of partition29 which forms the inside wall of sash channel 99, will be brought tobear against the inside bottom portion of the sash, thus locating andsecuring the machine in its operating position.

The next step of installation procedure may be` to clamp the unit to theinside window sill. Clamp angles and 81 are removed from the unittemporarily. Clamp channel 8| is slidingly adjusted within channel 19,to register perpendicular channel 83 in vertical alignment with theinside window sill edge 89. The slots 88 and 82 in channels 19 and 8|respectively, are arranged so that in any relative position ofadjustment underneath the cabinet the slot registry provides openingsfor four bolts 9| to secure channel 8| in its permanent assembledlocation within channel 19. The four bolts 9| are assembled andtightened. Clamp angles 85 and 81 are then located above and belowwindow sill edge 89 as shown in Figs. 2 and 9, and bolt 88 is insertedto securely clamp the air conditioner to the front edge 89 of the windowsill without the need for screws inserted into the window sill or windowframe. It will be understood from the drawings that the securing of thisclamping device will secure the air conditioner against rotary,horizontal, or vertical movement in a plane perpendicular to the window.

In the next step of installation the window sash again may be raised topermit access to the outside of the window for the purpose of adjustingthe jack screws 32, for auxiliary support of the air conditioner on theoutside window sill. The jack screws 32 are assembled through the bottomflanges of brackets 29 and 39 by inserting the screws through the nuts92 welded to the inside of the anges. The jack screws are screwed downto contact the outside window sill with a slight pressure that willsupport a small portion of the weight of the air conditioner. Locknuts93 are then tightened to complete the assembly and installation of thejack screws.

To each side panel of the air conditioner a small channel 94 isassembled to receive ll-in panels 98 provided to close the aperture thatmay be left between the sides of the air conditioner cabinet and thesides of the window frame. These panels are usually cut from a standardpanel material. For installation of machines embodying this in vention,these fill-in panels may be very readily measured, cut, and installedwith the sash raised. The sash is then lowered into the sash channel 99to complete the installation.

The cabinet structure of this invention is easily and quickly made inquantity production by the fabrication of nine (9) parts of at sheetmetal, following: cabinet wrapper l5, back panel I9, partition 29,bottom panel 21, sash channel member 28, two brackets 29 and 39, and twobrackets 34. These parts may be quickly assembled as shown in thedrawings, by the process of spot welding. The resulting assembly isready to receive parts for nal assembly on a mass production assemblyline. The above listed fabricated parts made of 16 gauge steel willresult in a vert7 strong cabinet assembly which is one object of thisinvention.

This cabinet structure is adapted for fast assembly of the internalmechanism on an assembly line, and it is likewise adapted for easyaccessibility, with the removal of the two top covers, for fieldinspection, adjustment, and/ or replacement of internal Vcomponent partswhile the unit remains in the installed operating position.

In operation exceptionally high evaporator e1-- iciency is obtained bythe evaporator fan 55 drawing the room air into the evaporator chamberthrough the louvers 56, through the evaporator coil 54, and thencedischarging it directly into the room through an outlet grille 57 ofvery low resistance to high velocity air flow. The distribution of airflow through the evaporator is exceptionally even andthereby'thernaximum of heat transfer from the air to the coil isobtained. The desired quantity of air fiow may be moved with a fan motorof low power to gain the highly desirable advantage of quietness in theoperation of the evaporator fan, The diagonally located evaporatoraccomplishes exceptional compactness and helps to induce evenlydistributed air ow over the full face area of the evaporator coil.

In operation of the condensing unit high eniciency is assisted by anexceptionally large voiume of cooling air being moved through thecondensing unit chamber 24 by the condenser fan 41, which operates athigh efficiency because its high velocity discharge of air throughcabinet opening B is unrestricted. This fan draws air upwardly throughnn tube condenser 3i and thence over evaporative condenser Sii incounterlow sequence to the now of refrigerant within the two condenserswhich are connected in series as explained above. The hot refrigerantvapor from the compressor passes first through evaporative condenser 3S,then through the top row of tubes in the nn tube condenser Si, and lastthrough the bottom row of condenser tubes where it is in heat exchangerelation with the incoming and coolest air being drawn through thecondenser. The single circuit condenser oi this invention may beconstructed with any number of 11n tube rows desired with the rowsconnected in counterow series to the ilow of cooling air. Theoounterflow relationship between the'refrigerant within the twocondensers and the cooling air flowing over the condenser surfaces asdisclosed and constructed in this invention accomplishes high condensingunit eciency. The distribution of cooling air i'low through the fin tubecondenser is exceptionally even and it results in high heat exchangeciency. A greater volume of air flow is obtained from a fan and motorassembly of a given power. High condenser air volume helps highcondensing eiciency. v

The structure of this invention disclosed in this specincation is new tothe art. It accomplishes the objectives enumerated herein, and otherobjectives of value that may be understood from a study of this.speciiicaton 1t will of course be understood that various modificationsor changes may vbe made in the form, details, arrangement, andproportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of theinvention.

What I claim is:

1.1n a window mounted air conditioner, a cabinet, a partition Within thecabinet dividing it into an evaporator unit compartment and a condensingunit compartment, an evaporator assembly in `said evaporatorunitcompartment and a condensing unit assembly in said condensing unitcompartment, said condensing unit compartment arranged for extensionoutside a window, an air cooled condenser in said condensing unitassembly, said condenser being positioned horizontally withinnan openingin the bottom portion of said condensing unit compartment and extendingsubstantially the full width o? said condensing unit compartment fromsaid partition to the outside wall of said cabinet, means for drawingair upwardly through said condenser, and spacing means underneath saidcabinet for supporting said cabinet and condenser in such spacedrelation above the sill of a window as to permit substantially uniformair i'iow through said condenser throughout the entire area thereof.

2. in a window mounted air conditioner, a cabinet, a partition withinsaid cabinet dividing the same into an evaporator unit compartmentcontaining an evaporator assembly and a condensing unit compartmentcontaining a condensing unit assembly, said condensing unit assemblyarranged for extension outside a window, an air-cooled condenser 'insaid condensing unit assembly, said condenser being positionedhorizontally within an opening in the bottom ci said condensing unitcompartment and covering substantially the full depth of said condenserunit assembly from said partition to the outside wall of said cabinet,means for. moving air through said condenser, a transverse vertical piermeans substantially equal inwidth to the width of said cabinet, saidpier means supporting said air conditioner in spaced relation above thesill of a window and preventing the passage of air therethrough, andmeans including said pier means to minimize the restrictive edect of theoutside Window sill on the flow of air through said condenser by saidair moving inea-ns whereby the air ow throughY said condenser issubstantially uniform throughout the entire area thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,181,853 McCloy Nov. 28, 1939 2,278,989 Gruitch Apr. 7, 19422,290,973 Jewell July 28, 1942 2,316,704 Moore Apr. 13, 1943 2,335,627Woliert Nov. 30, 1943 2,355,299 Gibson Aug. 8, 1944 2,386,833 Ames Oct.16, 1945 2,472,792 Cohler June 14, 1949 2,495,902 Hart Jan. 17, 19502,519,985 Eberhart Aug, 15, 1950 2,5%,391 Morgan et al Oct. 17, 19502,551,426 Ealter May 1, 1951

